


until every last star in the galaxy dies

by polyamory



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Chatting & Messaging, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Ghost Dag, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Online Relationship, Past Abuse, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 05:54:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7562917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polyamory/pseuds/polyamory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"So," Dag draws the word out, pulling herself upright so she's sitting across from Toast. "Will you help a fellow freak girl out?" She smiles, tilting her head like she already knows Toast is gonna say yes. For all the matter that Dag is the ghost of the two of them Toast feels like she's the one that's transparent.</p>
<p>Dag enlists the help of her friend, Toast, when the girl she loves wants to meet with her in person. The only problem? Dag is a ghost, not made of flesh and bone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	until every last star in the galaxy dies

**Author's Note:**

> this fic was inspired by this [tumblr post](http://schizodag.tumblr.com/post/138537278245) which reminded me of dag
> 
> the sylvia plath quote dag mentions is [this one](http://schizodag.tumblr.com/post/139479330695) and the picture of cheedo & her new haircut is [this one here](http://schizodag.tumblr.com/post/138360136950)
> 
> warnings: all the triggers are mentions of past events, none of this happens in the fic itself. dag talks about her suicide and her past which includes abuse and rape by her father. it's implied that cheedo doesn't come from a happy home either, but she doesn't live there any longer (she lives in a communal home led by furiosa c: )
> 
> if you need any more info feel free to contact me and please proceed with caution (none of these things are discussed in any graphic way whatsoever)

c: hey dag, can i ask you something?

 

d: cheedo! sure. what is it?

 

c: do you want to meet? like. in person? it's okay if you dont i just thought maybe it would b nice

 

d: yeah of course !! of course i want 2

 

* * *

 

d: toaaaaaast!! help! i'm in love with this girl that i met over the internet and we're gonna meet in person soon ?? what should i do? she Does Not Know i am a ghost. she thinks i'm made of flesh and bone !!!

 

t: oh you told me abt her. cheedo right?

 

d: yes that's her! she's beautiful and fragile and i do not want to break her heart

 

The words appear on Toast's screen at a mile a minute.

 

t: okay calm down dag, so what happened?

 

d: she asked if we could meet irl....

 

t: and you said yes??

 

d: of course!

 

t: why would you say yes ????

 

d: toast, i don't want to disappoint her she's the light of my life

 

t: have u even ever seen her

 

d: her soul is beautiful

 

t: so you've never gone to see her? even though you're a ghost? and you can go anywhere? and into any house? any room? but you've never gone to see the girl you're in love with?

 

d: no!! of course not that's creepy i wouldn't want anyone watching me without my permission.. would you?

 

t: okay fair point but you could've still idk just sneak a peak at her

 

d: why?

 

t: 2 see if she's worth it

 

d: OF COURSE SHE'S WORTH IT !!!!!! >:-(

 

t: okay okay forgot i said it (ngl i'm laughing)

 

d: i will Never

 

t: okay anyways.

 

d: yea

 

t: what do you want me to do?

 

d: wait i'll come over okay?

 

t: sure

 

* * *

 

Seconds later Toast's window frame rattles and she rolls her eyes.

"I know and you know that you can just walk through this window," she says as she opens the window.

Dag comes tumbling in in a whirlwind of autumn leaves and raindrops, making the curtains dance with her.

"But you just _have_ to be dramatic, don't you?" Toast rolls her eyes but she can't help the smile that tugs at her lips.

"I'm a ghost and I can't even polter. At least leave me the satisfaction of rattling your window panes every once in awhile," Dag laughs, swirling around Toast like a gust of cold wind and reminding Toast very much of a cat winding around her legs. "But!" Dag stops, hovering right in front of Toast. "You have to help me! Ugh, Toast! What am I gonna do?" Dag throws herself onto Toasts bed dramatically, her arm flopping over the edge and disappearing into the floorboards.

Toast sits down on the bed, too, pulling her legs under her. "Okay, tell me from the start what happened."

"I've told you about Cheedo before, haven't I?"

"Yes, you have. Beautiful, dreamy, fragile like a poppy flower's petals. Your words."

"Yeah, that's her," Dag sighs. "So today she asked me if we could meet in person and she seemed really nervous about it..." she trails off.

"So of course you said yes," Toast adds, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, exactly! Of course I said yes."

"And you didn't think even for one second that it might become a problem that you, you know, lack a physical body?"

"Well, okay maybe I wasn't really thinking?"

"Yeah, maybe." Toast scoffs. "And you've never told her? Or even just hinted? Come on, Dag, this isn't like you. You're usually always the first to talk to the elephant in the room."

"But how do you bring _that_ up in conversation, hm? She's the only other person except for you I've talked to since I – crrgh" she draws her finger across her throat where the bruise blooms a nasty purple-blue like a plastic flower that never wilts. "And I never had to _tell you_ , I mean you always knew."

"Yeah. Cause I'm just as much a freak as you."

"So," Dag draws the word out, pulling herself upright so she's sitting across from Toast. "Will you help a fellow freak girl out?" She smiles, tilting her head like she already knows Toast is gonna say yes. For all the matter that Dag is the ghost of the two of them Toast feels like she's the one that's _transparent_.

"Yeah," she allows finally, trying to sound as long suffering as she can.

"Ah, thank you! Thank you so much, Toast!" Dag throws her arms up in the air, rocking back and forth, and Toast knows that's her alternative to a hug.

 

* * *

 

c: dag!! look!!

 

+chee-dos has shared a picture with you

 

(open: a picture of cheedo's arm, black words are hand-written on her skin

"and many woven garlands

made of flowers

around your soft throat."

-sappho)

 

d: omg it's the quote i sent u!! i love it

 

c: yeah i loved it and i can't get it tattoo'd so i wrote on my arm with sharpie c:

 

d: i love it cheedo !! i love u

 

c: i love you too dag

 

d: :*

 

c: i'm just so happy and i can't wait 4 us to meet

 

d: me either

 

c: i want to finally see your face! and hold your hand! and hug you tight!!

 

If she could, Dag would cry. She'd cry a river and it'd sweep her away, flow through her and erode her, cell by cell, like a mountain plateau, like a canyon.

 

* * *

 

Toast refuses to dress up on Dag's behalf because after all this is not her date.

"Hi, are you–"

"I'm not Dag," Toast cuts off the nervous girl. There's a peach on the table in front of her, fuzzy and soft.

"Oh," Nervous Girl frowns, looks around. "I just thought, because of the–" she points, "but maybe you just like bringing peaches to cafes and staring at them on the table."

"Sit down," Toast says and points at the chair across from her.

"Don't be so rude. Smile," Dag urges from her seat next to Toast.

"Is this some kind of prank?" Nervous Girl is trying to look tough and failing. She hasn't sat down.

"Oh, Toast! She can't think that. You have to explain to her that I'm still here."

"Sit. Down." Toast says again. "This is _not_ a prank. Dag really likes you and wants to meet you in person. She literally hasn't shut up about it."

"So you know her."

"I'm her best friend. Well, her only friend."

"You _are_ my best friend," Dag says and she can see the corner of Toast's mouth twitch.

"So then, why isn't she here? Did something come up? She could've just told me."

"No, the thing is. Dag is dead."

"What!? Yeah, that's a great way to phrase it, Toast," Dag groans.

"What!?" Cheedo echoes.

"No, I mean– Dag is a ghost. She's been dead for long."

"Not _that_ long. You make me sound like a Victorian creeper maiden."

"You're kidding me, right? This _is_ a prank."

"Okay, tell her I want to plant the stone of this peach with her." Dag points at the peach on the table.

"O-kay." Toast sounds skeptical." Dag says she ... wants to plant the stone of this peach with you."

"How do I know you're not Dag after all?" Nervous Girl asks, but she's shaken by the words, staring at the peach as if it can tell her the truth.

"Why don't you shake it like a Magic 8 Ball?" Toast scoffs.

"What?" Nervous Girl startles out of her daze.

"One, two, three," Toast picks up the peach, shaking it in her hands. "Did my online girlfriend stand me up?"

"Hey," Dag shrieks, infuriated.

"Oh, you don't know a single thing about me," Nervous Girl says, and she's Angry Girl now, pulling the peach out of Toast's hands and holding it close.

"Look, here's my ID. Name's Toast. I'm not Dag but she _is_ here." Toast points to the seat next to her and Dag waves at Cheedo. "I'm just here to mediate."

"So, Dag's a ghost? And she has been the whole time we talked?"

"Yeah, but I haven't been a ghost for that long, tell her that."

"Yes, and she wants you to know that she hasn't been a ghost for that long. Apparently I was making her look old."

"Bit hard if she doesn't age, isn't it? Oh, I'm Cheedo, by the way."

"Yeah."

"So, she's here right now? In that chair?"

"Yup," Toast nods.

"Hey Dag," Cheedo starts, trying on a smile and finding it ill-fitting. Her eyes don't meet Dag's but that's hardly news to Dag. It still makes her want to cry. "I don't– I don't know what to say." Cheedo's on the brink of tears and a wave surges up inside Dag, trying to consume her.

"Oh, no! Toast, you have to comfort her!"

"She says she wishes she could comfort you," Toast says and Dag shoots fury at her through narrowed eyes.

"Thanks," Cheedo smiles wetly at Toast, then turns her smile in Dag's direction. "I've thought so much about meeting you and all the things I wanted to say to your face and– I'm sorry. I'm glad you came."

"So am I."

"She is too."

"Oh, oh! Give her the flowers I brought!" Dag turns excitedly, looking to Toast with a smile.

Toast sighs and rolls her eyes but reaches into her bag for a small bunch of violets. "Here, Dag brought you these."

"Oh, thank you. they're beautiful."

"It's a lesbian tradition. Back I don't know when sapphic women used to give each other violets as a sign of their affection," Toast says.

"I know. She– you told me before," Cheedo says to the empty air where she can't see her. "I remember that."

Dag smiles. She feels like there's a supernova inside of her.

"Speaking of," Cheedo says and her face shifts into a frown, not sad just thoughtful. "How _do_ you type?"

"Oh, she climbs into the computer and basically–" Toast shapes her hands into claws as if they were buried in something, "possesses it."

"So she's not actually typing?"

"I don't think so I think she just sends the command to put in the words when she's like, connected to the computer." Toast shrugs. "Anything to add?" She looks over at Dag but Dag shrugs as well.

"I don't know how it works I just know it does."

"Yeah, she doesn't know either," Toast says to Cheedo.

"How long has she been a ghost for? I mean..."

"No, tell her it's fine to ask."

"Dag says it's fine. And she's been dead for only a few of months."

"Four."

"She's been dead for four months."

"Oh. Can I– can I ask how you died?" Cheedo asks, turning to where she assumes Dag to be.

"Yeah, you can ask. It's okay."

"She says it's okay."

"But does she look like she means it?" Cheedo asks Toast.

"Say yes."

"She's telling me to say yes but the truth is, I'm not sure."

Cheedo nods, looking down at the peach she's been stroking. Dag wishes she could know what Cheedo is thinking. But words she can say online suddenly seem so scary in the daylight.

"No, I– I want to tell her." Those words alone feel like thunder and they're only the build up to the real clash.

"If you're sure? You don't have to," Toast says. And then to Cheedo, "She still wants to tell you."

"It's okay if you can't yet, Dag. You can always tell me another time."

"No, I– now is good."

Toast nods and silence falls at the table.

The three of them sit there, each waiting for something they can't define, one of those 'you'll know it when you see it' kind.

"Well, tell her," Dag urges after a full minute of silence.

"Tell her what?"

"What's going on?" Cheedo asks, confused furrow on her brow.

"She just said to 'tell you,'" Toast says.

"You know the story already," Dag says.

"Yeah, but she wants to hear it from you, not from me."

"Okay, okay..." she tries to say it, all of it or even just a word, a tone but she can only sit there, in the late autumn sun imagining what the warmth would feel like on her skin.

"Maybe if you can't even say it it's not the right time yet," Toast suggests gently.

"No! I _can_ say it! Damned words, I could say them just the other day but now they're stuck as if my mouth's a prison? What is this?"

"It's something else, you know that, saying it _to someone_."

"Yeah, I know." She sits up with considerable effort, turning towards Cheedo. "Okay, here goes. My sister and I used to live with our father. He was a– bad man and he did bad things and," she takes a deep breath, "when I found out I was pregnant I– I couldn't. I just couldn't do it so I– hung myself. And I left my sister. It haunts me every day. That I don't know where she is, that I don't know if she's safe, if she's still with _him_ , ptui!" She makes as if spitting on the ground in disgust, even the mention of him like poison in her mouth.

Cheedo is silent for a moment after she hears this from Toast and then she gives a shuddering sigh.

"I'm sorry all of that happened to you, Dag. I can understand why you wanted to–" she looks round at the other patrons sitting near them, "do what you did. I've been through something similar and I'm absolutely sure your sister doesn't blame you."

"I'm sorry. I– I don't know what else to say and I'm sorry for that also."

"She's sorry. She doesn't know what else to say."

"That's enough," Cheedo says, tear-smeared, holding up the peach for Dag to see and pressing a kiss against the fuzzy skin.

Dag presses a kiss against her fingers and extends them towards her.

"She gave back the kiss," Cheedo says.

"Yeah, she did." Toast smiles.

"Okay, Dag!" Cheedo says after a moment, gathering herself like dirty laundry and walking down to the river stream. "Let's talk about something more happy, yeah? I feel bad for Toast cause she has to pass all our cry messages along."

"I don't mi–"

"No, no," Dag cuts in, "Cheedo's right. Let's talk about, um– do you play an instrument?"

"Do you play an instrument she asks."

"Yes," Cheedo crosses her legs, relaxing now and it's as if the sun shines a little brighter. "I play the piano and I sing sometimes also but I'm not great at it."

"Really? I play the piano, too! Or, well, I used to. You'll have to play for me some day."

"She plays the piano as well and she says you should play for her someday."

"I'd love to but to be honest I haven't played in ages cause the home I live in doesn't have a piano."

"We'll just have to find another place for you to practice. Where do you live?"

"She wants to know where you live."

"Again with the heavy shit," Cheedo laughs but she keeps talking. "I'm staying in a kind of assisted living situation it's basically a home for girls with a 'troubled past,'" she makes quotation marks with her fingers, "though Furiosa hates that word. She's the one who runs the house. It's pretty small, it's just me and two other girls and one older woman who helps Furiosa take care of things. They're a good family."

"I'm glad. They sound good."

"She's glad you found a good family."

"Thanks," Cheedo smiles. "So, how did you two meet? Let's stop talking about me, hm?"

"You know this story, we can tell it together," Dag says. "So–"

"–she was looking for her sister, Splendid, just. Standing there screaming her name at the top of her lungs–"

"–and Toast looked up, which was weird cause nobody else could hear me, so I–"

"–and when I looked up she– she told a joke. Why didn't the ghost go to prom?"

"Cause she had nobody to go with," Dag laughs.

"Cause she had nobody to go with," Toast nods.

Cheedo smiles, a tentative thing. "So what happened then?"

"Well, I was out with my parents, but Dag kept following me and badgering me–"

"–I thought she couldn't see me after all because she kept ignoring me–"

"–but every once in awhile I'd look at her out of the corner of my eye and she was doing, backflips and all kinds of things–"

"–honestly it was the most fun I'd had since I died."

"So then she followed me home and when I was in my room she came and–"

"–we talked–"

"–we talked. For a– a long time."

"Have you always been able to see ghosts?" Cheedo asks.

"Not always, it's– well, it's kinda hard to explain."

"Okay?"

"So, I'm pretty sure I could see them when I was really young, like infant-young, just from the stories my parents tell me and stuff. But then I kind of, unlearned it, if that makes sense?" Cheedo nods. "Or I just ignored it, repressed it, but a couple years ago it started again. But I've– never talked to any other ghost as much as I talk to Dag."

"Yeah?"

"I mean," Toast laughs, "it's kinda sad. I'm her only friend."

"If I could I would hit you right now," Dag laughs.

"What does she– what does she look like?"

Toast looks to Dag and waits for her nod before she says, "Well, she's kinda see-through, but apart from that... She's tall, though most of the time she's hovering above the ground anyways–"

"Wait, she can fly? You can fly, Dag?"

"I have no form that binds me to the earth," Dag laughs, flying around the table like a whirlwind.

Cheedo shivers a little, pulls her cardigan closer around her shoulders, and Toast knows what she's feeling, the cold whisper of a ghostly touch, like standing next to a glacier. She herself is so used to it by now, her hands are always cold, vaguely blue-ish, and Dag jokes about leeching the warmth out of her.

"That was her?" Cheedo asks, looking for confirmation.

Toast nods, "Yeah, she likes to show off."

"Well, must be frustrating since I can't actually see her."

"You're still impressed though, aren't you?" Dag asks, stopping in front of Cheedo, looking wide-eyed and wonderstruck at her, so alive, so warm. Dag lifts a hand and lets it hang near Cheedo's cheek, traces the outline of her hair where the afternoon sun ignites it into a shimmering halo.

"She's," Toast gestures, "right there next to you, asking if you're impressed."

"I've known you were amazing since the first time I talked to you," Cheedo smiles. She holds up her hand, waiting, and Dag lines up her hand, only a fraction of a moment between them, unbridgeable, a pale phantom against Cheedo's tan skin, the slight tremor in her hand, the veins just barely hinted at, pulsing life through her.

Dag sobs and drops her head, waits for the tears that never come.

Toast coughs and they look up at her in unison.

"You wanted to know what she looks like?"

"Yeah," Cheedo nods, but she doesn't look away from Dag's direction.

"She's, ah, thin, kinda lanky, bony. All her limbs seem a little too long–"

"Wow, really flattering," Dag snorts.

"–and she thinks I'm being unflattering. She's got huge eyes and white hair."

"You sound lovely," Cheedo says.

"Oh! Oh, oh, oh!" Dag calls, suddenly excited. "Tell her this, word for word. It's a Sappho fragment. 'Awed by her splendor. Stars near the lovely, moon cover their own, bright faces,'" Dag says and, giggling, covers her face with both hands to look up at Cheedo through the cracks between her fingers.

Toast laughs, small, fond and warm, like a candle flickering in the wind whose warmth Dag can't feel.

"What's she saying?"

"She's hiding her face and quoting Sappho."

"That's gay," Cheedo laughs.

"Right?"

"Hey!" Dag calls, affronted. "I love Sappho."

"She really loves Sappho," Cheedo says, shaking her head with a smile. She holds her hand up again and Dag mirrors her.

"That's what she _just_ said."

"So what was it?"

"What?"

"The quote. From Sappho?"

"Oh, right. 'Awed by her splendor. Stars near the lovely, moon cover their own, bright faces.'"

"That. Is gay," Cheedo says again with a face-splitting grin.

They're shaken out of the moment when a phone starts ringing and Cheedo scrambles in her pockets to turn the alarm off.

Dag curls her lonely hand around the emptiness where Cheedo's was, imagines she can feel the warmth there still.

"Sorry, sorry," Cheedo sighs. "That's my alarm. I have to go back or else I'll be late for dinner."

"Okay, that's okay," Dag nods, moves back to Toast's side. "We'll still write though, right?"

"She wants to know if you'll be in touch."

"Of course, Dag! I meant what I said, I love you," Cheedo says, trying to look at Dag, wringing her hands.

Hesitantly, Dag goes to her and Cheedo, as if she knows, instinctively opens up her arms. Dag steps into the half moon of her almost-embrace, lets her forearms rest above Cheedo's so she can feel the warmth radiating from her.

"You're so warm," she whispers. She knows Toast can't hear her, so she doesn't know why she says it but she has to. The words burn warm in her throat, like the memory of hot chocolate on cold winter nights. "Toast," Dag says louder, turning her head to look at Toast, "tell her she reminds me of hot chocolate in the winter."

Toast huffs a little laugh, but relays anyways, and it's worth it, all the sap in the world, for the way Cheedo's face lights up like fairy lights.

"That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me," she says, and there's a twinkle of mirth in her eyes.

"I think Dag's about to cry," Toast cuts in.

"No, I'm not," Dag denies affronted. "Can't even cry, can I now?"

"Don't cry," Cheedo says, urgently as if the world would surely end if Dag would cry.

"She can't."

"You can't? That's even sadder," Cheedo frowns.

"Hey, hey! Don't frown," Dag says.

"I'll write you tonight, okay?" Cheedo asks.

"I'll be waiting."

"She says okay," Toast says.

"Thanks," Cheedo smiles. "And thanks to you, Toast, for being here and helping us."

"Yeah, no big deal." Toast shifts from one foot to the other, adjusts the strap of her bag across her shoulder.

"Yeah, it kind of is. Goodbye, Dag. Goodbye, Toast."

"Bye, Cheedo."

 

* * *

 

+chee-dos has sent you a contact request

 

c: hey toast! this is cheedo? dag's friend? dag gave me your contact i hope that's okay. i wanted to ask you something

 

t: yeah sure, what is it?

 

c: so you said when we met that you learned how to see ghosts right?

 

t: well, relearned is more like it but yea

 

c: do you think you could teach me?

 

t: honestly? im not sure. i mean it kind of just...came to me but. we can try

 

c: thank you!!! that is so nice of you!

 

t: yeah

 

c: so....... should we meet up or?

 

t: probably better, yeah.

 

c: oh hey also, could you maybe not tell dag about this? i kinda want it to be a surprise for her?

 

t: okay well i'll not tell her why but i won't keep it from her if we meet up

 

c: no no of course yeah sure !!

 

t: and we can't meet up at my place then cause she tends to come by unannounced

 

c: okay i'll have to ask 2 have a visitor over but im sure it'll b fine brb

 

t: k

 

* * *

 

t: so

 

d: wow, ominous much toast

 

t: u gave ur girlfriend my contact info?

 

d: was that bad??? i thought it would b okay with you? :/ she said she wanted to talk to you since you're the only other person who knows abt me

 

t: yeah no it's fine.. ugh now im gonna b hearing this gooey crap from the both of you aren't i?

 

d: well, toast, if your crap is gooey then u should really go c a doctor hehehe

 

t: ur disgusting

 

* * *

 

c: furiosa said it's fine!! do u wanna come over tomorrow

 

t: sure. is 5 okay?

 

c: a-okay !!

 

* * *

 

Toast is five minutes early when she comes over the next day, but Cheedo's already been sitting on her bed, just staring at the clock for the past ten minutes, so.

She runs towards the door before the bell has even stopped ringing, stopping just before she slams into it.

"Hey," she tries to smile and Toast quirks her lips in something like it.

"Hey."

"Uh, so. This is where I live," Cheedo gestures around the dim hallway awkwardly. "That's Capable," she gestures at a redhead sitting in what Toast assumes is the kitchen, door half open as they walk past.

"Wait," Cheedo stops with one hand on the door frame. "Is that our radio?"

"Yup," Capable says not looking up from her work. There are bits and pieces strewn all over the table.

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't even broken," Cheedo mutters, half to Toast and half to herself.

"Well it sure is now," Toast says.

"Not for long," Capable shoots, finally looking up to glare at Toast.

"That why they call you Capable?"

"Or something like it," Capable shrugs.

"Cheedo," calls a voice from the end of the hall. "Is that your friend?"

"Yes," Cheedo calls back.

"Hello," an impressive woman strides down the corridor, sticking her hand out for Toast to shake. "I'm Furiosa."

"I'm Toast."

"And I'm Bacon," the old woman behind Furiosa laughs.

"Nice to meet you."

"That's Miss Giddy," Cheedo tells her, leaning in just slightly. "My rooms that way," she points.

"Sorry," Cheedo says as soon as the door's closed behind her. "I thought we could get past them, but," she shrugs.

"Don't worry bout it," Toast says, looking around Cheedo's room. "Is that–" she starts. Leaned against the wall in the corner is a wooden staff almost as tall as the ceiling, about twice Cheedo's size.

"Oh yeah, my staff. It's wicked, isn't it? Just found it lying around on the sidewalk one day."

"So you just, picked it up?" Toast turns towards her, eyebrows raised.

"Yup. The janitor saw me while I was bringing it inside but I had my headphones in so I just smiled at him and kept walking, like it was just any other day."

"Just a girl, carrying a giant ass stick, nothing unusual about that," Toast laughs. "This is such a Dag story, honestly. Speaking of, should we, I don't know, start?"

"Yeah, yeah sure. Um, feel free to sit wherever," Cheedo bustles nervously.

"Thanks," Toast sits down in the only chair, pulling her legs up to her chest. "So, what do you want to know?"

"I don't know," Cheedo sits at the end of the bed, her hands twisting in her lap. "Anything you can tell me, I guess. Anything that could help me."

"Well, okay," Toast starts after a moment, "When it started again for me, at first, I could only hear the ghosts, not actually see them. So I guess that's probably where you should start. For me it got stronger and stronger the more I focused on it, like dialing a radio, you just have to find the frequency where the sound is the strongest."

"Okay, yeah," Cheedo nods.

"Are you– are you taking notes?"

Cheedo looks up from where she's bent over a notebook, furiously scribbling along. "Well, yeah."

Toast can't help but laugh, just a little. This girl is so weird, she fits with Dag so perfectly.

"Okay, well anyways. Pretty sure the best way to go about is to focus on the strange sounds you'd otherwise dismiss. Like when the window rattles and you tell yourself it's the wind."

"Or when the door creaks open even though nobody's there," Cheedo adds.

"Right. I'm not saying it has to be ghosts every time, just. I think awareness is the first step, you know?"

"That makes sense," Cheedo says, because Toast honestly looks like she needs the reassurance. This is just as strange for her as it is for Cheedo.

"Yeah, so I'd say just go from there? And then once you can hear them– Well, I just focused really hard, gave myself a couple massive headaches, until it eventually worked," she shrugs.

"Yeah, but you're a natural!" Cheedo says, dropping backwards so she's splayed out on her bed like a hopeless starfish. "Who knows if it's even possible to learn this?"

"Well, we won't find out by not trying," Toast says. "Although..."

"What?" Cheedo asks, rolling over so she's lying facing Toast.

"Well, it would probably be easier if you could train _with_ a ghost. Y'know, so you don't just sit there trying and trying–"

"–and meanwhile there's not even any ghost there, true."

"I'll see if I can maybe find someone."

"Really? Ugh, thank you so much, Toast. You are really doing me a huge favor!"

"Yeah, sure. Hey, Dag's my friend I wanna see her happy."

"Yeah, me too," Cheedo says, a small yet incredibly dopey smile on her face.

 

* * *

 

+dag-ger has shared a link with you

 

c: is that the spice girls?

 

d: well, i figured now that ur getting with my friends this song was in order c:

 

c: ur ridic

 

d: no but rlly, how was it?

 

c: it was good! i like her even tho she can b a lil grumpy sometimes

 

d: call her grumpy cat (but dont tell her u got that from me)

 

c: dag!!! i will not make her hate me

 

d: she could never hate u! you are entirely too loveable

 

c: i think u might b biased c:

 

d: just a lil :*

 

* * *

 

The next time Toast comes over, Cheedo races to the door just like last time.

"You know you don't have to run, right?" Capable calls from where she's leaning in her doorway, body twisted like a question mark. "Nobody wants to take her away from you."

Cheedo sticks out her tongue at Capable before opening the door.

"Hey!"

"Hey," Toast greets. "Radio Girl," she nods at Capable.

"Breadsticks, right?" Capable asks, faking innocence. She's really bad at it.

"Don't be rude," Cheedo whispers at her as she walks past.

As soon as they're in her room Toast gestures behind herself. "I brought a guest."

"Oh?" Cheedo tries to find any trace she might see of the ghost, any stray sound she might be able to pick up.

"She's the Keeper of the Seeds. A friend of Dag's. Don't worry," Toast adds at Cheedo's wide-eyed look. "I didn't tell her anything."

"Okay. Good. Great. Thank you," she says to Toast. Then, to the empty air beside Toast, "Uh, make yourself at home, Miss Keeper of the Seeds."

"Ah, she's such a young thing," the Keeper says to Toast. "So fluttery, like a baby bird."

Toast moves to sit in the chair like last time, but the Keeper stops her with a tut.

"You younglings can sit on the bed, my old back needs supporting," she says, her voice like floorboards creaking.

"Okay, lemme just," Toast carries the chair over so it's next to the bed. "She says we should sit on the bed," Toast says to Cheedo.

"Sure, yeah," Cheedo clambers up onto the bed, folding her legs under her.

Toast sits so they're facing each other.

"I've been practicing since last time, listening to the little sounds," Cheedo says after a moment of silence. The Keeper is humming idly.

"Any headway?"

"Maybe? Sometimes it's like I hear whispering, far away and hard to make out."

"It's a start," Toast assures her and Cheedo smiles.

"So what am I here for?" The Keeper cuts in.

"Well," Toast tilts her head to the side to show Cheedo that she's not talking to her anymore. "You're mostly here to talk. And Cheedo will try and pick up anything she can."

"That I can do. I have so many stories you'll love to here, birdie," she says, leaning forward into Cheedo's direction.

 

* * *

 

c: this made me think of u dag

c: "(How frail the human heart must be-

a throbbing pulse, a trembling thing-

a fragile, shining instrument

of crystal, which can either weep,

or sing.)"

c: it's by sylvia plath

 

d: ah hh, my fellow suicide girl !! well, i know that when im with u my heart sings the sweetest song!

 

c: i wish i could hear ur voice i bet it sounds like windchimes and roses

 

d: what tf do roses sound like ??? smh cheedo

 

c: dag :o have u never heard a rose?

 

d: pretty sure i haven't what do they sound like?

 

c: the way i imgaine ur voice sounds :*

 

d: haha ur not funny

 

c: im cute tho

 

d: ur lucky ur so cute :* no but really, sylvia my girl she gets me

 

c: yeah?

 

d: there's this quote from her diary. she calls herself "a passionate, fragmentary girl" i relate to that

 

c: i personally like this quote from oscar wilde: "they have been through the fire, and what fire does not destroy, it hardens." it's from the picture of dorian grey

 

d: that is one good quote

 

c: yeah well, i have good taste

 

d: yeah?

 

c: yeah <3

c: sooooooooooo when can we meet again? i mean, if u want to

 

d: ofc i want to !!!! are u kidding! soon so soon! when r u free?

 

c: this weekend?

 

d: yeah perfect! saturday? same cafe as before? i'll check with toast if she's free one sec

 

c: sure

 

d: all clear!!

 

c: super! :* i can't wait to see u

 

d: me either! goodnight cheedo ily

 

c: ily2 dag

 

* * *

 

c: toast!!  i can finally hear the gentle conversations of the other world !!!!!!!

 

t: well i wouldn't say they're always so gentle, ghosts can b pretty annoying but i guess you'll find out abt that soon enough (i am glad 4 u tho)

 

c: thank you!!! all the ghosts i've talked to so far have been really happy for me! they welcome me with soft whispers !!

 

t: you are so weird sometimes

 

* * *

 

+chee-dos has shared a picture with you

c: so i mightve died my hair ............ (and cut it)

 

(open: a picture of cheedo in profile, her head leaning on her hand. her hair is chin length and dark green)

 

d: omg !!!!!!! cheedo !!!!!!! you look so good !!!! it looks amazing

 

c: thanks!! it's so i'll camouflage better when i inevitably move to the swamp to escape human life

 

d: always thinking ahead

 

c: get u a freak like that huh

 

d: :*

 

c: uh o i just got called to dinner

 

d: ??

 

c: i might have .....neglected to tell furiosa

 

d: ... is that bad? do u need help?

 

c: no no, not Seriously bad, i mean she's probab ly gonna b pissed cause technically we have rules abt this kinda thing but she's understanding. she's a good person, don't worry

 

d: okay.. well lemme know how it goes otherwise i'll worry myself sick

 

c: i'll keep u in the loop

 

d: ly

 

c: miss giddy pinched my cheeks and called me grendel

c: furiosa is just gathering her words here she comes rip me

c: she's lecturing abt responsiblity and impusle control

c: uh oh she noticed me texting u abort abrot

c: this is capable i'm hiding cheedo's phone whoever you are you better be worth it

 

d: i hope so

 

c: u better not hurt her

 

d: shovel talk, nice

 

c: ugh what did capable say??? o m g im gonna kill her

 

d: hehehhe

 

c: okay i gotta eat now but i'll ttyl

 

d: later alligator

**Author's Note:**

> also, yes the bacon joke is bc i was convinced miss giddy was called miss piggy and i obviously corrected it but decided to keep the joke bc tbh miss giddy would just randomly call herself bacon why not this fic is full of weird girls


End file.
